The leaders of Ukraine and Russia began jockeying for influence with President-elect Donald Trump in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. election, seeking through public statements Thursday to gain an advantage in his promised push for a resolution to their yearslong conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday called for "a fair ending to the war” and warned that a swift end to hostilities could force his country into a defeat.

"A quick ending would be a loss,” Zelenskyy told reporters at a summit in Budapest hosted by Viktor Orban, the European Union’s biggest critic of aid for Kyiv.